The continuing demand for high density, high performance electrical connectors has far surpassed the capability of conventional spring contact connector technology. As a result, other sources of connector technology are rapidly emerging. Flexible film with strip lines has been shown to be a viable alternative to spring contact connectors. Flexible film connectors can provide low noise, high density connections and as such are gradually replacing spring contact connectors in various environments. However, because of the large number of contacts required and the high normal force required per contact, flexible film connectors present a problem for containing the total force needed to make consistently reliable connections. Therefore, the need exists for a flexible film connector that is capable of containing the total force required and of making consistently reliable connections.
Examples of known flexible film connectors include those described in U.S Pat. No. 4,798,541 and in its improvement U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,979 both to Porter ("the Porter patents"). The Porter patents disclose a right angle flexible circuit for making multiple electrical connections between mother and daughter printed circuit boards. The connector of the Porter patents includes a housing and an elastomeric insert which have corresponding slots to receive the daughter board. The elastomeric insert protrudes from the housing to contact the mother board. A flexible circuit surrounds the elastomeric insert making a perpendicular connection between the daughter board and the flexible circuit.
A similar connector is found in Bunnell U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,596 which wraps a flexible circuit around a housing from a mother board and into a recess formed in the housing. The daughter board is inserted into the recess to complete the connection. Stillie U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,529 also describes a mother-daughter flexible circuit connection. A flexible film surrounding a central body portion connects the boards at their intersection. Other examples of flexible circuit connectors are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,626,056; 4,629,270; and 4,636,019, each of which sandwich an electrical component between a pair of opposing flexible film sheets.
Another type of a flexible circuit is that for connecting an array of vertically mounted printed circuit boards. An example of this type is found in Hasircoglu U.S. Patent No. 4,902,236. The connector of this patent includes contact tails extending from a header for receiving a flexible film folded around a spacer.